10 Roubles

The Assignation Bank (Assignatsionny Bank) was Russia's first state paper money institution, founded by Catherine II in 1769 to finance war expenditure without depleting the silver reserve. These assignats circulated at a persistent discount against coin throughout their entire lifespan — a chronic problem the government never solved. By the 1830s the exchange rate had stabilized at roughly 3.5 assignation roubles to 1 silver rouble, an embarrassment the state finally addressed by abolishing the assignat series entirely in 1843, replacing it with the silver-backed credit rouble under Finance Minister Kankrin's reform.

The long date span of this pick reflects continuous reissue across multiple reigns rather than a single print run.